The Season Trials

C H A P T E R F O U R T E E N

C H A P T E R           F O U R T E E N

I wake in a panic, in unfamiliar surroundings. For that reason, I don't dare let on that I'm awake. I don't know whose watching me or where I am. But I do know that I no longer have a tree stump digging into my bed and the cold isn't threatening to choke me.

At first, my hearing buzzing, I don't hear the voices.

When I hear them, my palms start to sweat. My heart starts racing so fast I'm afraid it'll beat out of my chest.

"She hasn't woken yet." It's clearly a female, her voice low with worry.

Someone clears their throat. Then a deep male voice echoes around the room, sounding just as worried as the woman. "I checked her pulse before. She's breathing."

"That was before." The woman again. "She was taken by those animals. They probably killed her."

"I checked her pulse. She's alive." Insistent. Low. Male.

"Check again. We need her." The voice is different. More high pitched, but just as masculine.

"Kyell." A low gasp from the female. "We're trying to save her."

"She was taken by them. They've branded her. She'll fight with us!" It's almost a shout; Kyell once more.

"She's bloody and bruised! That should be your priority."

"Shut up, both of you. Are you trying to wake her?" Neither Kyell, nor the woman; so it must be the other man in the room.

There's a creak in the room. I struggle to stay still, to breathe so inconspicuously it looks like I'm sleeping.

Once again I'm caught vulnerable.

"We need to wake her, Maxwell. The longer she's asleep the more we're risking her health," the woman says.

"You've wrapped up her ankle. We're monitoring her. She's safe." That's definitely Maxwell, frustration making his voice short. "If we wake her she's going to panic. Then she'll be in danger."

"We saved her," the woman snips.

"She doesn't know that," Kyell argues. "As far as she knows, we're going to send her back to her owner."

"She has no owner," the woman snaps. "She is free."

"You are trying to wake her. Why don't you yell a little louder?"

My heart stutters. They know I'm awake.

"I'm going to check her pulse again," Maxwell says, voice significantly more even. "Her breathing is too shallow."

I hear footsteps, moving closer. I don't hold my breath, but my breathing is so constricted I might as well be. Like a coil around my throat, panic is choking me.

Closer and closer someone walks. The mattress below me dips.

I don't hesitate.

I spring from the bed, tangling myself in the sheets. They catch around my legs and I topple right onto the floor, barely catching myself with my hands in time to break the fall. There's yelling around me but it is all background noise. All I'm focused on is gaining my bearings and finding a way to escape.